The Minister for Energy has welcomed an announcement by Eirgrid that it will not be deploying overhead lines in its Grid Link project.

Eirgrid made the announcement following the presentation to Minister Alex White and the publication of an Independent Expert Panel review.

Minister White said: "This outcome will be welcomed by communities along the original route. It reconciles community concerns about grid infrastructure with the need to maintain sufficient capacity to meet the electricity needs of homes, businesses and communities as cost-effectively as possible.

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"It also demonstrates that meeting citizens' concerns about energy infrastructure can be compatible with taking the necessary steps to decarbonise our energy system and tackle global warming."

Eirgrid is now proposing to deploy a new 'regional option' for the Grid Link project. The regional option will use a smart-grid technology called 'series compensation', which allows more power to be transmitted over existing lines.

Instead of new overhead lines or underground cables, it will require some upgrade work to existing lines and an underwater cable below the Shannon estuary.

(CD/JP)